Twenty killed after bus overturns and catches fire while overtaking truck in Egypt

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At least 20 people have been killed and three injured after a bus overturned while trying to overtake a cement truck on a desert highway in southern Egypt.

The bus was travelling from Cairo when it overturned and was hit by the truck on a road in the province of Assiut, about 199 miles (320km) south of the capital, before both vehicles burst into flames, provincial governor Essam Saad said.

The bus was burned out within minutes, and the bodies and the wounded were removed from it with difficulty following the incident on Tuesday night, the governor’s office added.

Photos released by the office show a burned out bus, with rescue teams searching for survivors.

Thirty-six ambulances rushed to the scene and the victims were taken to nearby hospitals, according to the health ministry.

The truck, which was loaded with cement, is understood to have been stopping because of a malfunction at the time of the incident.

Traffic accidents kill thousands every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record.

Crashes are mostly caused by speeding, bad roads or poor enforcement of traffic laws.

Dozens have been killed in a recent spate of rail and road crashes.

Eighteen people were killed in March when a truck collided with a minibus in Giza province, about 49 miles (80km) south of Cairo.

At least 20 people were also killed and nearly 200 wounded when two trains collided near Tahta, about 273 miles (440km) south of the capital.

The country's official statistics agency says around 10,000 road accidents took place in 2019, the most recent year for which statistics are available, leaving more than 3,480 dead.

In 2018, there were 8,480 car accidents, causing over 3,080 deaths.

Additional reporting by Associated Press